Halo: Trials of Fire
by Yuekichi
Summary: After narrowly escaping the fallen fortress worlds of Reach, Noble Six is now tasked with the job of finding the UNSC vessel, Spirit of Fire, lost twenty years earlier. However, what starts as a simple retrieval mission, takes a turn as our heroes find themselves caught in the middle of the Covenant Civil War. Find out what happens in this, the sequel to Halo Reach: Legendary.
1. Chapter 1

Halo: Trials of Fire

Author's Note: This story is a sequel to _Halo Reach: Legendary_. In addition, it takes place during the events of Halo 2. References will be made to the events that take place in the game so if you've yet to play Halo 2 or haven't played it in a while I would suggest playing or watching vids of it online first before reading. Lastly, just wanted to remind everyone that whenever the Covenant refers to Reach it will be with the phrase "human home world" for two reasons; one that the Covenant probably does not care about Humanity enough to wish to learn what their planets are named and two, in their mind Reach was Humanity's home world since the Covenant did not know that Humanity's real home world is Earth.

Chapter One: The Heretic

October 20, 2552

Covenant Holy City, High Charity. Ninth Age of Reclamation

"_For failure such as this, no punishment is too great"_- Halo 2

"_We'll be rendezvousing with the fleet in thirty seconds, Sir."_ An Elite said.

"_Good. Stay on course."_ A gold Elite replied. He turned to his right and addressed the Prophet sitting in a hovering chair next to him. _"Noble Prophet of Prudence, we shall be arriving at High Charity momentarily."_

The Prophet cut him off with a wave. _"Despite what you may think Commander, I can hear. And I heard your subordinate quite clearly."_

The Elite nervously clicked his mandibles. _"I apologize Noble Prophet."_

"_There is no need."_ He said as he pulled a small ball from his enormous robes, _"It has been a long and tiring journey from the human home world. If the message we received is to be true, then right now I imagine High Charity is already at the Sacred Ring—"_

"_Entering the Sacred System now."_ the same Elite said. The purple lines passing the outside the ship faded as the supercarrier entered the system. A large brown gas giant takes up most of the viewing window; in front of it, floats several burning pieces of metallic loops, the remains of Installation 04.

"_Or what's left of it."_ The shocked Prophet said. He stood up from his chair and instantly a silver armored Honor Guard was at his side. _"Thank you, Vir Gramee."_

The Honor Guard silently nodded his head in reply. Prudence looked a moment longer before returning to his chair. The gold Elite spoke. _"Forgive me Noble Prophet, but we were warned about the Ring's destruction."_

"_I know. I did not think the damage would be so severe. I assumed the damage repairable and the delay only minimal."_ He shook his head. _"This is no delay. The Journey is over unless another Ring is found and considering how long we have searched for just this one ring…I fear it will be another age before we find another."_

"_You should not despair Noble Prophet." _ Vir Gramee said to him. _"If you lose hope now then the others will lose hope and the human that did this will have indeed won."_

Prudence smirked at his remarks. _"You are right, my friend. I apologize for my moment of wavering. We should hurry if we are to make it to the trial. Commander?"_

The Elite began issuing orders for the ship to hurry to High Charity. Meanwhile, Prudence and Vir continued to whisper to his right. _"Come let us go to the hangar. Knowing Truth, the trial has already started."_

The duo left the bridge and proceeded slowly to the front hangar.

"_How do things look for the Elite responsible?"_ Vir asked Prudence. Prudence began to toss his ball up into the air catching it as it fell back down.

"_In all honesty, not well. Based on the damage and the events that led to the ring's destruction, I fear that the one responsible is about to become a pawn in another of Truth's political moves. As you know, the Prophet of Mercy has deemed the one who allowed the human vessel to successfully leave the human home world a Heretic. However, he did this without consulting the rest of the council. Moreover, should the other members learn of Mercy's actions then it may give the human sympathizers the fuel they need to force Truth to offer what's left of the humans a place in the Covenant. If Truth wishes to maintain power and keep this war going the way he wants, he will have to place all the blame on the Elite in charge of protecting Halo."_

"_A scapegoat then." _Vir replied_._

"_I am afraid so. More than likely, the council will deem him a Heretic and call for his public humiliation and execution."_

"_Do you think Truth will comply?"_

The two stopped and Vir realized he was standing inside High Charity's hangar. Except for a few Engineers, Minors and Jackals the hangar was mostly devoid of life. The two pressed on to the council chambers. As they stood in an elevator, Prudence placed his ball back inside his robes and answered his question. _"Truth will no doubt take the military service he has provided into account and base his judgment on that. As for what I personally believe, no doubt Truth will agree with the council's ruling of heresy however, I do not think he will squander either the opportunity or the incompetent's life."_

"_Who may I ask is the incompetent?"_

Prudence looked up at the Honor Guard with a surprised expression on his face. _"Vir, I thought you knew. His name is Thel Vadamee, Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice." _

Vir Gramee felt his heart hit the bottom of his gut while Prudence continued with the conversation. _"If memory serves, I believe he was a subordinate under you before you rose to your current position."_

Vir nodded. _"He was a Minor, just starting in the military. I was an Ultra at the time and found him to be most capable of leading troops into combat. After our initial fighting together on various human worlds, I was given the honor of serving you and have not heard of him until now."_

As they neared the top of the lift, the two could hear Truth's voice as he spoke to the Council. The lift stopped and the two walked out into the large Council Chamber. All around them sat silver armored Elites and Minor Prophets staring towards the front where a single gold Elite stood on a small platform. Nearby a pair of brutes stood as if waiting to escort him away. Directly in front of him sat two well-dressed Prophets and a hologram of another while a grey haired Brute Chieftain with a Gravity Hammer stood off to the side watching events unfold. The Prophet in the center was speaking when they took their seats in the back.

"—_led your fleet with honor and distinction. But your inability to safeguard Halo…was a colossal failure."_

A Prophet in red robes stood up, made a fist, and yelled, _"Nay, it was heresy!"_

The room exploded into yelling as the various councilors began debating the decree. Vir stood at Prudence's side and looked on his former subordinate with pity.

_Oh Thel Vadamee, you were once better than this._

"_Now we wait to see Truth's reaction." _Prudence whispered towards Vir.

"_I will continue my campaign against the humans!" _Thel Vadamee said to the Prophet in front of him.

"_No…you will not._" Truth said and glances at the Brute Chieftain who then lets out a commanding bark to the two Brutes near Thel. They approach, each getting ready to grab an arm but Thel quickly brushes them off and is escorted out of the chamber as Truth says, _"Soon the Great Journey will begin. But when it does, the weight of your heresy will stay your feet. And you shall be left behind."_

A general murmur arose as the various council members prepared to leave. Truth addressed them saying thanks for their attendance and inviting them to head back to their individual rooms where they could watch Thel receive his Mark of Shame and to be ready to decide on a suitable punishment for his failure. Prudence and Vir followed the other councilors as they dispersed back to their rooms. As Prudence and Vir exited the lift that carried them away from the Council Chambers and to the Council quarters, a single silver Council Elite member was standing nearby as if he was waiting for them. The Elite approached them. Vir glanced at him and gave him a respectful nod.

"_Ah, Councilor Miree."_ Prudence said to the Elite,_ "To what do I owe the pleasure?"_

"_Good day to you Prophet of Prudence." _He answered and walked toward the hovering Prophet._ "I hope your journey to the human home world was productive."_

"_Indeed. I am sorry to hear about this latest…set back."_

"_As am I. To think I supported his promotion. I hope he suffers a painful and slow death."_

Prudence smiled wryly. _"Is that your recommendation or what you desire to have happen?"_

"_What if I said both." He replied._

"_Then I would say your expectations are too high." _ He motioned for them to begin walking forward. _"And while there is no doubt that the whole of the Council shares your opinion, I doubt Truth will waste this opportunity to add to his own guard. My guess is that he'll be humiliated then cast as one of Truth's personal guards. Despite his recent failures, I fully believe that Truth means to use this Elite to further his own agenda and if not dead then as a guard where he can keep close watch on him."_

Miree grunted. _"Truth does have many schemes."_

"_Speaking of schemes, are you aware of the events that took place at the human's home world?"_

"_You mean aside from their annihilation, no."_

"_I see, what if I told you that we have a Heretic in our midst."_

The Council Elite stopped cold as Vir and Prudence turned to face him directly. _"You lie."_

"_I do not. Vir Gramee himself was a witness to this fact. If you would please Vir."_

He nodded and said, _"What the Noble Prophet says is true. I was sent to the surface of the human world to keep watch on a recently promoted Field Commander who was tasked with the removal of a Heretic. This Heretic not only allowed the humans to sink a relic of our Lords underwater but also allowed the humans to study it and learn its many secrets. In addition, the ship that came to the Sacred Ring was able to do so because he failed to stop its departure. Moreover, the Demon responsible for the Ring's destruction also carried knowledge obtained from the relic the humans sunk."_

"_Blast."_ The Councilor growled. _"Who is the one responsible for that failure?"_

"_A Field Marshall and a relative of yours at that I believe."_ Vir answered.

"_Relative? I have no relative that is a Field Mar—no wait, Cyril Miree, another Sangheili who showed exceptional promise. Does he still live?"_

Vir shifted his weight and answered, _"When last I saw him, he was boarding a human vessel with a grey Demon after defeating the Field Commander sent to kill them."_

"_A DEMON! First he fails to kill it and now he aids them!"_ He let out a slew of curses before regaining his composure. _"Why does he aid them? Even better, why does he continue to exist?"_

"_I do not know. Perhaps he seeks to one-day fight the Demon or has some other plans for it. However, it is worthy to note that the same Demon that caused his disgrace is the very one he now follows."_

Miree uttered a low growl. _"Are we cursed to be humiliated by these creatures whenever the relics of our Lords are involved?"_

Neither of them responded. After a moment, Prudence asked him, _"What do you plan to do now?"_

"_Nothing. At the moment, I have too little information to do anything. And while his heresy is a blight upon the universe, he is beyond my reach…for now at least. However, the day will come when that will be rectified. Tell me, who was it that declared him a heretic? Was it Truth?"_

"_It was Mercy who held his trial."_ Prudence answered. _"And as I was telling Vir as we arrived, Mercy has not deigned to share this information with Truth or the rest of the Council. I imagined if he did and word of this affair spread to the anti-war faction, they would call to question Truth's intentions. If nothing else, they would use both of these events to try to force Truth to extend an invitation to the remaining humans for a chance to join our Covenant."_

"_Something that you would no doubt support fully."_ Miree quipped.

Prudence shrugged._ "Come now Councilor Miree, I am simply less short sighted than the others. While I have no particular love for the humans, I do admire their tenacity, cunning, and ability to wage war for as long as they have. Though to be fair, their history is filled with many conflicts, so it is no wonder that they have persisted as long as they have in the war against us. If anything I find Truth's…unwillingness to see reason to be short sighted. The humans are gaining an understanding of the sacred relics better than even the best of our scholars and have a greater understanding of technology than even our best engineers. Look at what they have accomplished; with their own hands, they have developed their own weapons, ships, and methods of travel that we ourselves had to borrow from others and even then, our understanding is no greater than theirs is. Not allowing them a place would be a crime in of itself."_

_ "Perhaps, but can we really allow a race whose only skill it has is to create greater ways for destruction?"_

_ "And yet we allow the Brutes to roam our halls."_ Vir interjected. Miree glared at him.

Prudence cleared his throat. _"What my guard says is indeed worth noting. I am well aware of the prejudice you and the Brutes have toward each other. However, even amongst your proud race there are those like the heretic who respect the humans even if they do not outright admit to doing so. Besides, wouldn't we be better off with their destructive ways being used for us rather than against us?"_

Miree pondered what he said for a moment, then let out a resigned sigh. _"While I do not like the notion, I see no fault with what you say. However, I will reserve judgment until I see with my own eyes what they are capable of doing. If they are indeed a race of warriors then they must prove their worth like any other. However, seeing as they are keener to fleeing I do not think I will be too impressed."_

_ "I believe they are allowing their noncombatants to flee not their warriors."_

_ "They would do better if they trained them to fight."_

_ "Forgive me for saying this honored Councilor,"_ Vir interrupted, _"however; I do not believe we are in a position to criticize the humans when we ourselves only allow a certain population of our species to fight."_

Miree narrowed his gaze at him, _"What do you mean, guard?"_

_ "I mean that the humans are more willing to allow both their males and females to fight whereas we only allow our males. In this, they are better than us. How can we claim to be better warriors when they are more progressive with the use of theirs?"_

Both Miree's and Prudence's attention was focused on the Honor Guard who shifted uncomfortably under their scrutinizing gaze.

_ "Interesting."_ Prudence said stroking the hairs on his chin. _"I did not know they allowed their females to fight. How sure are you of this?"_

_ "Quite."_ Vir replied, _"The Demon that brought down the Field Commander is a female."_

_"Hardly extensive proof but a start."_ Miree said. _"I will consider what we have discussed and keep an eye on that schemer Truth. For now, I shall return to my quarters and contemplate the fate of the incompetent one currently here. May the Lords continue to protect you both as you walk the path."_

The Councilor turned and walked in the opposite direction as them. Prudence and Vir Gramee turned around and continued forward towards his room.

_"I will assume that the other guard is currently preparing my room."_ Prudence asked Vir.

He nodded. _"I told him of this task before I arrived on the bridge of the ship."_

_"Perceptive. However, I have to ask about the Demon you encountered. Tell me, what is your impression of her?"_

_ "She is a very capable warrior. Cunning, quick, and has the same love for close quarter combat as some of our sword wielding Zealots. As a commander of troops, I could not say. She seemed to be more of a solo type of fighter, however; I believe that is where she excels the most if the report the Field Commander left us is to be believed."_

_ "And what did that report detail."_

_ "The results of the Field Marshall's failure and how a lone Demon was able to slay six of his warriors, a cruiser, and an entire division of warriors before another Demon rescued her."_

_ "Tenacious and strong willed. All promising qualities."_

Vir tilted his head slightly to the right in confusion, _"Noble Prophet, if I may ask why these questions?"_

_ "Because my dear friend," _the Prophet answered stopping in front of a large light blue two story house . He pressed a button on his chair and opening the steel door in front of them._ "I am beginning to formulate an idea. One that may serve us well in the future."_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: More Questions? Splendid.

October 20, 2552

Planet Arcadia, Procyon System

Status: Glassed

The ruins of Arcadia weren't much to look at. Unlike Reach, the planet wasn't heavily explored and retained an agricultural status. This did little to prevent the Covenant from glassing the populated areas three year earlier. Although most of the planet is still intact, the areas of interest to the SPARTANs of Noble Team lay buried underneath layers of dust and debris.

It had been over a month since Noble Six and her men left the dead world of Reach with the new mission of finding the _Spirit of Fire_. So far, their efforts had been in vain. However, their most recent find—an underground ONI facility—held promise of a breakthrough for the weary team of three SPARTANs, an Army medic, and a former Covenant Elite Field Marshall. Inside an executive office in the vacant facility, Noble Six, Noble Three, and Icarus were hard at work searching through the vast ONI archives for any information that might lead them to the lost ship.

"Are you sure we're going to find something here?" Noble Three asked opening another file cabinet and dumping the contents on a table in front of him.

Noble Six glanced up from the computer monitor in front of her and at the green armored SPARTAN across from her and said, "Hope said that there is a strong possibility that we might find something here since the place where this base is hidden under is overgrown with foliage and missed by the Covies."

"Can't see how, considering that buildings still stand out even when they're covered with weeds." Noble Three replied.

"It is possible that the Covenant noticed this place but decided against glassing it because the planet was doing a good job of that itself." Hope responded.

"This coming from an AI that wasn't even around at the time."

"Kig-Yar Jaw," Icarus annoyingly said looking up from a set of documents, "your continued complaints are not getting us anywhere. If I may be so bold as to suggest diverting that energy to finding us a solution to our current problem."

"Says the exiled lizard." Jun muttered quietly.

"Says the mouthy coward." Icarus replied.

"What did you just call me?" Jun said turning his full attention towards the maroon Elite.

"You heard me." Icarus said turning to face the SPARTAN. The two stared each other down as tension filled the space between them. Noble Six looked away from the computer in front of her and at her two teammates staring each other down.

_Some things never change._

She shook her head in disapproval and spoke to Hope. "You know Hope, it ceases to amaze me just how often some stereotypes continue to crop up despite their age."

"You're referring to Noble Three and Icarus' behavior."

Six nodded her head.

"Boys will be boys after all." Hope said. "If I may make a suggestion, just let them sort it out themselves."

"I'm inclined to agree but I get the feeling they will try to kill each other before they get along."

"Well, you better separate them before they do just that."

_I'm their mom as well as their commander, yay me._

Six stepped in between the two just as they were about to come to blows. "Alright you two, back to work. Jun lay off the insults and get back to work. Icarus ignore him and do the same."

They glared at each other one last time before returning to their respective corners. Six returned to her computer and resumed her search. "Hope, can you search through the system and find what we're looking for?"

"I could try; however, given that this is an ONI server I will be looking through and that this place hasn't been accessed in a while it might take some time."

Six removed the AI's disc from her mind and inserted the disc into a nearby terminal. "Let's see: high level firewalls, detection algorithms, search and destroy programs, oh yeah this going to take a while."

"Take however long you need." Six replied.

"If Kat were here we would be on our way to the _Spirit of Fire_." Jun said tossing a stack of papers on his desk before grabbing his sniper rifle. "I'm going to head topside and get some air. I'll be in touch."

Six gave him a short wave as he left the room. Silence engulfed the room as Icarus and Six worked at their respective stations. Six was busy tapping on the keyboard in front of her when Hope spoke to her over the com channel.

"I can handle things from here, Lieutenant. Why not speak with Icarus while I continue the search?"

"About what?" She asked still typing on the keyboard in front of her.

"His argument with Noble Three? What that Honor Guard told him? His feelings? It could be about anything just keep him busy until I'm done over here."

Six continued working. Hope made a sound resembling someone clicking their tongue then disabled the keyboard Six was standing at. Six looked at the monitor in annoyance.

"That means now, Lieutenant." Hope said sternly.

"Fine." She muttered and walked over to the wall next to where Icarus was reading a pair of documents. Six leaned against the wall and said to the maroon Field Marshall, "I didn't know you could read our writings."

He looked up briefly and noticed her leaning against the wall and staring towards him then went back to perusing the documents. "I learned how when I studied your human language. Being an officer in the field, it helped to know what my enemy was saying so I may react accordingly."

"Practical." Six replied.

"It also allowed me to know what your kind was saying when I was interrogating prisoners."

"Don't you mean torturing them." Six deadpanned.

Icarus gave the SPARTAN a toothy smile, "I prefer to view it as insightful questioning with the occasional unpleasant scream of agony for wrong answers."

_And I thought only humans were capable of sadism._

"Let's discuss something else."

"And that would be what, Demon?"

"How about what that Honor Guard spoke to you about?"

Icarus calmly placed one of the documents down on the table in front of him and picked up another one. "What is there to tell? My race finds the most holy of all relics, the pinnacle of our belief and one of your kind destroys it as easily an angry Brute does a stack of boxes. "

Six imagined a Brute swinging a Gravity Hammer towards a stack of steel crates sitting in a hangar while a pair of Grunts looked at the destruction in complete terror. "I imagine it's not a pleasant sight."

"Was the destruction of your planet, the one you and Kig-Yar call 'Reach' enjoyable to watch?" He said with more sting than intended.

Six shrugged. "Not particularly. Then again, I didn't care for the planet as much as Joshua or Jorge did so I can't really say it's something I'm going to miss. The people whose lives your kind ruined in the process might have something else to say on the matter though."

Icarus clicked his mandibles in curiosity. "Oh? Does the destruction of your home world, the seat of your entire race, matter so little to you?"

Six snorted. "For the record, Reach wasn't my home."

"What was?" He asked placing both sheets on the table.

"A backwater place i would rather forget. I doubt anyone is still there and if there are people still there, then i doubt any of them remember me fondly."

"An outcast?"

"More like a problem most wanted to be rid of."

"Is it customary for your kind to scorn your warriors?"

Six let out a short laugh. "There was no war where I lived just endless boredom. What about you? Have you always been the killer warrior you are now or was there something else?"

Icarus thought for a moment then said, "My race is a race of noble warriors. You earn your right to belong and fight to rise."

"So you've always been this way?"

"A proud warrior willing to serve the gods, yes. A leader of vast armies no that came later." He let out a sigh and continued. "My first true battle was not against you humans but against our own."

"You're kidding."

Icarus shook his head. "It may come as a shock to you but our Covenant is not without its share of problems. As with any collection of races, disputes arise often and it is up to someone to resolve them peacefully. However, most of our disputes end in war and it is up to us to resolve it."

"You mean the Elites."

He nodded. "Yes. My first engagement was against what your kind refers to as Brutes. My kind and theirs have fights quite often. It is a rivalry that is likely to continue for many years to come. I began the war as a Minor but ended as a Captain. Not too long after, the war against your kind began and I quickly rose through the ranks to the level of Ultra. At that point, it is difficult to rise higher than that."

"Why?"

"Unlike your kind, we raise ranks by the number of enemies we kill. However, once we reach the rank of Ultra, it becomes harder to rise simply because volume becomes less important and one's ability to lead successful campaigns is more valued."

"Somehow I don't think you followed this rule."

Icarus gave her a faint smile. "What gave you that idea?"

"You're a Zealot or a variation of them."

"Perceptive. One does not earn the rank of Field Marshall through leading alone. The rank of Field Marshall is reserved for only the most worthy and devoted to the Covenant. It is one where leadership, honor, discipline, and skill are valued above all else. There is a mantra amongst us Field Marshalls, 'With this sacrifice of blood, we journey into the Divine Beyond'."

"Sounds pretty intense." Six said crossing her arms over her chest. "How'd you join them?"

"Shortly after I joined the Ultras, I was given a test to locate whatever artifacts I could on one of your dead worlds. It was assumed I would fail however, I returned with a relic the size of a Hunter's shield, which impressed the Council enough to grant me the rank of Zealot. I earned the rank of Field Marshall by successfully infiltrating one of your planets and secretly stealing several valuable relics as well as several correspondences detailing your shipping routes for the next several months. I did this without your kind ever discovering what I had done until we were disrupting your supply lines. The Council as well as the Hierarchs were pleased with my success and granted me the rank of Field Marshall shortly before we burned your home world."

"And then, because of me, you lost all of it and here you are."

"It is as you say though I loathe saying it."

Six shrugged, "it could be worse, you could have been among the ones who died at that Holy Relic of yours."

Icarus stared at her with his eyes narrowed before releasing a resigned sigh. "There is truth in what you say. Perhaps this is the gods' way of providing me with a new path to follow."

"Since we're on the topic, how about explaining what this Halo is? Why do you revere it so much?"

"It is as I stated earlier, the center of my race's religion."

"Could you be more specific?"

Icarus shifted uncomfortably. "I do not believe you would understand its importance even if I tell you."

"Try me."

"Do not say I did not try to warn you." Icarus stroked the bottom of his mandibles before continuing. "I can only describe it the way the Prophets have told me; Halo is a relic that when used will grant salvation to all the worthy who walk the blessed path with its holy light."

"So some kind of portal to what, transcendence, godhood?"

"No. As I said, you would not understand. It is something that your kind has no way to grasp."

"Have you ever seen what it can do?" Six asked.

"No, however—"

"Then how can you dismiss the possibility of it being a portal of some kind."

Icarus began pacing in front of the desk. "I suppose you have a point however, if we went by that logic it could be anything as neither one of us has seen it."

"Except the ones who were actual at the one that was recently discovered."

Icarus nodded.

"Which brings me to my next question, what is this 'parasite' you and the Honor Guard talked about?"

He stopped pacing, stared directly at her, and said flatly, "It is a creature so vile and so terrible that it would make the mightiest warrior cower in fear of its horrific power. It is not something to be taken lightly. An encounter with the parasite is almost certain death. It consumes all who stand in its way—turning comrades against one another in a bid for desperate survival. Pray you never encounter it."

_Translation: their form of the boogieman._

"You make it sound unbeatable." Six said.

"Can you stop a massive wall of rushing water?"

"Not really."

"The same applies here. You may prevent some of the water from hitting you but ultimately you shall be overwhelmed and drenched by the wave."

"Speaking from experience?"

"Mostly. Like you with your childhood, it is not an experience I enjoy reliving."

"One that I can understand quite fully." Hope interjected.

Six turned her head toward the computer console. "What are you, do you know what he's referring to, Hope?"

"Indeed I do." She cheerfully replied, "I also know the purpose of Halo if you would like for me to recite to you its grand purpose."

"And how, construct, did you come to possess this knowledge?"

"Possess what?" Hope asked in a confused tone.

"Knowledge about Halo and Icarus' parasite monster." Six answered.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Lieutenant."

"But you just said—"

"I have no record of what you are referring to in my vast stores of knowledge, Noble Six. If I did, I would have let you know sooner."

Six gave the terminal a puzzling look before turning back towards Icarus who bore an equally confused expression on his reptilian face. "Is it normal for your constructs to contradict themselves?"

Six shrugged. "Honestly, no; but then again this is my first time around a smart AI so it is possible that she can do that as a form of humor."

_Except this isn't the first time she's done this._

"What do you suggest, Demon?" Icarus asked in a low voice.

"For now, we ignore it" Six replied back in the same tone of voice, "but if it happens again we'll address the problem then."

Icarus nodded his head just as Jun's voice rang out in Six's helmet coms. "Six, get top side. I think we've got trouble headed our way."

"What is it, Jun?" she answered grabbing her Assault Rifle that was leaning next to the computer terminal and checking the ammunition count on its holographic display.

"A Covie ship and it just landed pretty close to our position."

"Scouts?" she replied turning to see Icarus checking his Plasma Rifle.

"Lieutenant." Hope interrupted.

"Possibly." Jun answered, "Whoever they are, you need to get up here so we can deal with them then hurry up and finish so we can get the hell out of here."

"Lieutenant." Hope called again.

"Alright, Icarus and I will be up there shortly." Six said, "in the meantime keep an eye on them and hold fire until we're up there."

"Understood." He replied.

"Looks like we have company." Six said to Icarus as she walks over to the terminal where Hope is steadily working.

"I look forward to facing the ones who are foolish enough to challenge us." He answered.

"Lieutenant, I have something." Hope desperately said.

"It'll have to wait. We've got bigger problems right now."

"But—"

"I'm getting ready to yank you. I would suggest you get ready."

"Fine." She said in a frustrated voice. "But since I'm not done looking for what we came here to find, I'm using your suit's power to do remotely."

"As long as it doesn't impede my combat effectiveness, you can do whatever you like."

"Alright." Hope replied. She paused then said, "You can yank me no—."

Noble Six removed the disk from the terminal and reinserted it into the slot in the back of her head then joined Icarus by the door where they proceeded to the dusty surface.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Not What You Expected, eh?

As she climbed over a fallen metal beam blocking easy access to the dark alcove where Jun made his nest at, a thought occurred to Noble Six. "A question for you Icarus."

The Field Marshall grunted as the top part of his headpiece chipped the top of a slanted doorway. "Does it involve why you humans have such cumbersome doorways?"

"No." Six said with a small chuckle. "Nor does it involve why the Covenant love purple."

"Pity then." He answered as he entered the dim stairwell. The stairwell was dark and overgrown with vines and moss that were slowly threating to take over the mostly destroyed base. Every now and then, Icarus would hear a drop of water hitting a small puddle a few floors down the stairwell annoying him to no end. "If not my height problems then does it have anything to do with that accursed dipping noise coming from below?"

Six stopped and tilted her head to see if she could hear the drips. "I don't hear anything."

Icarus carefully climbed over the same metal beam before stopping behind her. "Let me guess, poor hearing is also a trait of your kind."

"Also a no; my ears are fine. Yours are just more sensitive than mine are apparently, to your misfortune. Care to guess again or would you rather I ask the question?"

"Ask so that we may continue." He said grabbing a stray vine.

"Why would the Covenant come back here?"

Icarus broke off a piece of the vine and examined the leaves. "Do you even need to ask?"

Six gave him a flat look from inside her helmet. "I have a theory or two, but since this is your group of friends I'm asking about, I assumed you would have a better understanding than I do."

"Ah. My guess would be that they are a pursuer sent to follow us after our escape from your home world." He toyed with the bit of vine in his hand before tossing it down the dark broken shaft.

"I figured as much." She said and continued to a partially opened door. Six stopped and examined her surrounding for any traps Jun might have laid for any unsuspecting intruders. Six flashbacked to an earlier assassination she performed in which an Insurrectionist officer hiding out in a bombed out structure similar to the one she currently resided had laid several trip wires to protect his rear while he pinned down the small task force of twenty men to capture him. Command was not happy with the outcome. Six grunted at the memory.

Icarus quickly stopped himself from bumping into the SPARTAN. "Something the matter, Demon?"

"Just remembering an assignment." Six said not seeing any traps.

"Must be something important for you to briefly forget our current one." He replied both annoyed and intrigued.

"Partially, I was remembering a time I was sent to capture a rebel officer hold up in a building like this one. Command believed he knew something important and wanted him alive. Unfortunately, he didn't agree with being questioned by ONI and the ODSTs sent to bring him in weren't taking no for an answer."

"Naturally."

"So he started firing sniper rounds at the small team of seven and managed to kill two before thirteen more showed up and sieged his position. But anytime they tried to close in he would use them for target practice and since they wanted him alive blowing up the building was out so was going around as a separate team discovered when they ran head long into a network of automated defense guns the guy rigged to deal with intruders."

Icarus checked his boot for holes. "I am beginning to like this one already."

"Don't get too attached. They sent my team in to get the guy or die trying. We were like we are now only he had a network of tripwire bombs set kill anyone unfortunate enough to walk into them. While my comrades planned, I improvised and slipped past his traps. It wasn't easy, but I have experience with tight spaces."

"Then your mission was a success?" He asked placing his boot back on the ground.

"Not quite. We got him but he wasn't doing much talking."

"He cut out his own tongue?"

Six glanced back and smiled. "Let's just say at the time I wasn't big on following orders to the letter."

He gave her a confused look. She answered by facing him and softly patted her knife with her right hand.

"I imagined you superiors were less than excited to learn that you had silenced someone so important."

Six shrugged. "My boss yelled at me for about thirty minutes, I gave him a smart-ass comment about the intelligence of sending an assassin to bring back a live person, and he responded by politely ordering me to clean all two hundred Pelicans sitting in the hangar plus the cargo hold and crew quarters of a frigate that we were resupplying."

Icarus smiled. "You are lucky to be alive. Under my command, failure to complete an objective resulted in swift punishment."

"I made myself too valuable." Six answered, "I didn't hand over the Intel until I had assurances that I wasn't going to disappear. Although, I made the Pelicans glow." She slowly opened the door and looked around the room. Cement blocks, metal supports and a giant hole were now occupying what was once an office. Amidst the destruction, Six spotted Jun lying prone on the ground with his rifle sticking out in a gap between a pair of desks lying on their side and aimed at the giant hole in front of him giving him a clear view of the large overgrown courtyard with a small purple rounded craft resting in the center below them. Six placed her rifle on her back and crawled over to Jun's position.

"Nice story there, Six." Jun said as she stopped next to him, "I especially enjoyed the part about you cleaning ships and imagining you improvising to the point of disobeying orders. Straight to the point even when you tell a story."

Six elbowed him in the arm. "What's happened since you called us?"

"Ow." He whined immediately rubbing his armor, "Not much and that's my shooting arm you hit by the way."

"Get over it." She answered. Threat assessment?"

"Low. I've had eyes a pair of Grunts led by a Jackal leave the ship. Looks like they are unarmed. I sure hope you can get over it if I miss the Elite that's about to skewer you."

Six ignored his last comment. "Mind if I look?"

Jun carefully shifted over to allow Six to peer through his rifle's scope. Six zoomed in on the ship then moved over to the pair of Grunts and Jackal who were walking towards a broken fountain. They did not seem to wear any armor or other known garb to indicate their rank. For the most part, they seemed to be non-combatants. This was a first.

"I don't see anything to indicate they aren't armed." She said.

"When was the last time you saw a Grunt without brandishing a weapon?"

"Before a group of them tried to blow up themselves and me in New Alexandria." She answered.

"A foolish tactic." Icarus commented from the doorway. "If it is all the same I shall remain out here and keep watch."

Jun turned his head and spotted the Elite. "I was wondering where our friendly giant lizard went. Guess that answers my question." Six elbowed him again. Jun flinched. "Do I look like a punching bag?"

"I did not think your tiny mind could process that many words at one time, monkey." Said Icarus.

"Cool it you two. The last thing we need is to alert the enemy to our position." Six replied moving away from the scope.

"I meant it as a joke." He complained as he moved back into position.

"Right, because insulting the tall Elite that could crush your neck with on hand is always a smart idea. Anyway, I need a way down there."

Jun pointed to a small hole to Six's right. "There's a rope over there so you can go down. Unless of course you want to jump from up here. Of course, there's no Elite for you to stab on the way down so good luck Punchy."

"You're never going to let that go are you?" Six said as she grabbed hold of the rope and swung one leg out the window and on to a small ledge.

"You seem to have a habit of falling from high places. Let me know when you're on the ground."

"I will. Icarus watch Jun's rear; if anything comes up towards here that isn't friendly feel free to introduce them to your sword."

Six caught a glimpse of the maroon Field Marshall silently fading into the shadows as she began carefully scaling down the side of the building.

A few narrow falls later and Six was on the ground and peering out towards the courtyard center. "I'm on the ground."

"Hold on a moment." Jun replied then said, "It looks like they're gathering some metal pipes?"

"What?" Six asked in disbelief.

"I wish I were kidding Six, but it looks like the Covies are taking up construction."

_Of what, victory monuments?_

"I'm going to get closer."

Noble Six activated her suits active camouflage and waited for her suit's grey color to fade. When nothing happened, Six tried again with the same results.

_What the hell? Only month and already its broken?_

Six thought for a moment then had a realization as to what the problem might be. "Hope." She called out.

"I'm a bit busy at the moment, Lieutenant." She quickly answered

"And I'm busy trying not to have the two of us join the rest of this planet's population."

"Lieutenant, the planet's population is…oh, right."

"Yeah, what did I say about hindering my combat effectiveness?"

"Sorry about that," Hope said as if she were wincing while saying the words, "but if I am going to remotely search the ONI database then I need a bit of power to do it and what you had when you not-so-gently put me back in wasn't nearly enough to do it with."

"And I should care, why?"

"You want to get off this dead world?"

Six nodded.

"Then let me do my job." Hope replied. "I'm working on less than maximum efficiency and using anything I can get. Improvise if you have to, I hear your good at that."

_So much for Plan A. Old fashioned way it is._

Six sighed, crouched low to the ground and crept to the large fountain in front of her. She peered over the fountain wall at the Grunts in front of her. The two Grunts were standing in front of the materials they had gathered. Low growls and raspy grunts escaped their breathing masks as they conversed with each other in a way only Grunts knew. A Jackal walked between them, stuck a hose into the fountain's green looking water, and walked back to his ship completely ignoring Six.

"That's odd." Six quietly said.

"What is?" Jun answered.

"You just saw that right? That Jackal completely ignored me even though I'm sure he can see the top of my helmet. That's rather… uncharacteristic."

The sniper shrugged. "Must not have been paying attention. I wouldn't question good luck, Lieutenant. If you strike now those Grunts will never know what hit them."

Six moved around the fountain's right side until she could the foot of one of the Grunts. She readied her knife and waited counting off the seconds in her head. Five, four, three, two…at one she leapt from behind her cover and sprinted as fast as she could to the first Grunt. From his nest above them, Jun saw Noble Six sprint toward the pair of Grunts like a lion chasing down a zebra. The Grunt facing Six spotted her and, startled, jumped up running away screaming. Her target noticed the quick movement of his friend and turned around to see the rapidly approaching SPARTAN with her knife drawn. The Grunt placed his paws over his head and began quaking.

Six raised her knife to strike and was bringing the blade down when Icarus' voice interrupted her, "Demon, wait. You as well, Kig-Yar Jaw."

She stopped mid strike and glanced up towards Jun's nest. "What is it, Icarus?"

"I do not believe that small one will be a threat." He answered. As he spoke, the Jackal Six saw earlier came casually walking down the ship's ramp way with the Grunt that ran off earlier and a green Skirmisher following behind him. The Grunt pointed a large grey paw at Six while rasping out a few breaths at the Skirmisher. The Skirmisher's head quickly turned towards Noble Six and he let out a quick screech.

Six stared at the new foe with interest, ignoring the Grunt in front of her. Seeing her lack of interest, the Grunt darted towards the new group as if he was being chased by the Devil himself. The Skirmisher stalked towards her. As he drew closer, Six noticed that he was heavily armored from head to claw reminding her of some of the golden ones she saw near the _Pillar of Autumn_. She also noticed that he was armed, on his left side sat a Plasma Pistol and on his right was a long silver pole which reminded Six of a rapier. His green head feathers looked larger than the ones she had faced on Reach. Were they an indicator of age like grey hair to a human?

_Must be the leader._

Six kept her knife at the ready as the Skirmisher stopped a few feet in front of her. She noticed that he was also bigger and taller than the others too as his head was nearly eye level with hers. Six had to assume that he knew how to use that sword, and judging by her experiences on Reach this Skrimisher would likely run her through with the blade before she could draw her sidearm. She kept her knife raised ready to try and parry any assault.

"Oh yeah, definitely the leader." She whispered. "Jun, got eyes on?"

"Yep. He'll get a new hole in his head if he doesn't watch it."

The Skirmisher tilted his head to one side in curiosity. A low growl escaped his raptor like mouth.

"Hello to you too." She answered. "Well Icarus, what now? This one is armed and I don't fancy getting skewered and mounted on this guy's trophy room."

"Wait there and I shall be there momentarily to explain. Try not to get trigger happy while I descend from this nest."

Six did as he told her to do. She kept the Skrimisher's attention until Icarus walked out the front doors of the building moments later and stopped next to Noble Six's left. The Skirmisher's eyes focused on Icarus. He growled something to Icarus. Icarus responded in a similar manner before turning to Six. "This Skirmisher would like to know what we are doing here and why a grey Demon such as you is threating his charges."

Six gave Icarus a confused look and tilted her head. "You understand what they're saying?"

Icarus clicked his mandibles. "When you earn the rank to lead armies into battle, it helps to be able to communicate with those under you."

"Then translate for me: 'we are here searching for something. What are you doing here? Are you scouts with a fleet or here on your own?"

Icarus translated what she said to the Skirmisher. He glanced at Six and shot her an annoyed look before responding.

"He claims that they are not scouts and is annoyed that you did not answer his question about threating his charges."

"Tell him I thought that they were a threat and I apologize."

Icarus quickly translated her response. The Skirmisher gave Six a toothy grin then answered with two sharp screeches. Icarus translated his response. "He says that he accepts your apology and that he is not here to cause trouble just to make a profit."

"A profit? From who, there's no one here."

Icarus shifted his weight. "I believe I know what he means. Remember when I said that I would explain why they are here?"

She nodded.

"They are merchants of sorts, scavengers who scour empty battlefields for treasures and materials to trade for monetary gain or food. I believe they are here to gather supplies and to acquire more items to trade."

Six looked at the metal pile and the clear hose sitting in the fountain then back to the Skirmisher. "That explains the piles of junk but not the lack of weaponry."

A sigh escape Icarus' mandibles. "Not all who join the Covenant fight for it. Some do not officially partake in our many conflicts. The Kig-Yar is one of them. Many of them are mercenaries that work for the Covenant mostly for food and shelter and whatever else interest them. As your race has already discovered, some are pirates and others are merchants. The merchants rarely carry weapons as the places they go to are rarely filled with hostile populations—"

"Which, is just a nice way of saying that the populations have already been eliminated by your fleets." Jun interrupted.

A low growl vibrated deep in Icarus' throat and he slowly answered. "That is one way of looking at it. As I was explaining, these merchants are no real threat to us. The Skirmisher in front of us is likely only armed as a way to protect his charges."

"Would they report our presence here back to your command?" Six asked, slowly tightening her grip on her knife handle.

"They are not in the business of selling information if that is what you are asking. They may mention the difficulties they had acquiring their goods but only as a means to drive up their prices but they are no threat to us. I doubt Covenant high command will do anything even if they told them. Especially on a world such as this."

_So they're those kind of merchants._

Six brought her right hand to the top of her helmet as she felt the beginnings of a large migraine sprout in her mind. She noted to remember to take her helmet off when it was safe to soothe it.

"As educational as this experience has been," she said as she sheathed her knife," we have work to do. Icarus tell him that we'll leave them to their work. Jun save your bullets."

"And here I was looking forward to finally being able to shoot something." He said grabbing a fallen box and sitting on it.

"You mean aside from your mouth?" Six replied as she walked towards the building door. Icarus barked out a laugh before wishing the Skirmisher and his men luck on their hunt. The Skirmisher replied with a cheerful call before returning to his ship. The Jackal let out a cry and the pair of Grunts resumed their work.

As both Six and Icarus stepped through the threshold, Hope chimed in on her coms.

"Finally, I'm finished." She said.

"Can I have my suit back now?" Six asked.

"Yes, Lieutenant." Hope said, "You may have your precious suit back. It's not like it remotely accessed information through five active firewalls and a ticking cyber bomb that'd destroy said Intel if I didn't get it out in time."

Six tapped her helmet. Hope ended her complaints. "What did you find out?"

"Two bits of information. The _Spirit of Fire_ arrived here twenty years ago as part of a task group that came to repel an attack by the Covenant."

"We know that." Jun said. "Get to the more relevant part please."

"One step at a time, Noble Three." Hope answered in an annoyed tone. "Anyway, the Covenant attack on the city was stopped however, the city wasn't their real target. The real target was an ONI excavation site. When reinforcements arrived at the site, the Covenant put up a stubborn resistance but were eventually beaten.

"Now here is where it gets interesting. A scientist by the name of Professor Ellen Anders found something here and was captured by a metallic colored Elite."

"The Arbiter." Icarus said in awe. Six noticed his comment and turned to face him.

"Something you would like to add, Icarus?" she asked.

"It is something I remember reading about. You recall my mentioning on your home world about a member of my race that is not remembered fondly."

She nodded.

"The one your construct speaks of is him. He was the Arbiter, the will of the Prophets. They are the ones who aid the Prophets in our quest to complete the Journey. Most Arbiters are well respected or at the very least viewed with some form dignity; however, the Prophet of Regret selected this one. Why I am not certain, but what I do know is that many among the Council did not approve of his promotion and none saddened when we heard of his loss. His death was connected with the ship you are searching for I presume."

"Interesting." Hope said. "It seems your Arbiter is responsible for her capture and as a result the reason why the _Spirit of Fire_ left Arcadia. After she was taken, there are some communication logs that the listening station that was here recorded, apparently the captain of the ship, Captain Cutter, decided it would be best to pursue the carrier that had her. Lucky for us the computers kept a log of their jump coordinates as they left."

"More like following protocol." Jun chimed.

"What do you mean?" Six asked.

"You worked for ONI and don't—alright, after Harvest one of the decisions ONI came up with in addition to the Cole Protocol was that any and all ship AIs have to relay any jump coordinates in case of capture. Well, ONI soon found out that only the dumb AIs were complying and the smart AIs would occasionally refuse. As a precaution, ONI programed their ground computers to record all out going traffic leaving the system. It's so effective that most smart AIs wouldn't know it was happening. As an added bonus, because the servers are underground and protected under layers of firewalls the risk of discovery is extremely low."

"But Hope just got through." Six replied.

"Hope's different. She apparently likes to mess things up, like other people I could name." He answered.

Six snorted. "How do you know all this?"

"Kat told me during a mission, once while I was protecting her. I got annoyed as to why it took her so long to hack data files and delete information about incoming traffic when we were inside a small resistance outpost that was about to be overrun by the Covies, so she told me to get me to leave her alone."

_Bet that backfired._

"In any case," Hope interrupted, "we have what we came for so—"

Hope was interrupted by another voice over the comms, "Come in Noble Team, this is the _Saratoga_. Lieutenant, can you hear me?"

"Hang on Hope," Six quickly said, "This is SPARTAN B312, I read you _Saratoga_. What's the situation?"

"We just receive an urgent and disturbing message." The voice answered sounding spooked.

"What's the message?" Six asked.

"I believe I can handle that, Lieutenant." Hope interjected. "I was about to tell you anyway. However, some things are best heard." A second later, another more panicked voice echoed across her helmet's speaker.

"_To any remaining UNSC forces. The Cole Protocol is no longer in effect. I say again the Cole Protocol is no longer in effect. All forces not currently engaged with the Covenant are ordered to return to the Sol System immediately. Oh God, they just took out the Athens!"_

"That's basically it." Hope said to the stunned SPARTANS, "I tried to warn you before you yanked me but oh no! You thought this was more important."

Silence engulfed the air as the gravity of what the just heard hit them. Icarus was the first to speak. "Demon, I have heard this 'Cole Protocol' before. What does it mean?"

He waited a few minutes before Jun answered, "The Cole Protocol is basically a set of orders that are designed to protect the Sol System. If it's no longer in effect then they found it."

"Who is they and what did they find, Kig-Yar Jaw?"

Six was the one to answer this question. "The Covenant has found our home world."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Tough Choices

October 20, 2552

Planet Arcadia, Procyon System

The words hit Icarus like a Hunter's shield. His army that fought so valiantly on that place called Reach because they thought it was humanity's home world, died in vain thinking that the war was finally over. It was more than the fallen Elite could bear. The Field Marshall let out a hysterical laugh and said, "Did I hear you correctly Demon? That your home world is being destroyed by the Covenant?"

Noble Six nodded her head.

"Then it was all for nothing. Our attack, we believed that your world, Reach was your home world. What fools we were to believe such a thing."

"To be fair," Jun began, "that wasn't your fault that you believed that Reach was it. That was the whole point of the Cole Protocol, that none of our ships could go directly to Earth after Harvest. It was a measure taken to ensure that Earth would remain safe from attack until we found a way to beat you guys. Guess it was only a matter of time until they found it after Reach was gone."

"I'm surprised they found it so quickly." Said Hope.

Her statement broke Six out of her sullen mood. "Too quickly." She walked over the Icarus who was sitting on the ground with his back against the wall chewing on one of his nails. "How long have you guys known about Earth?"

Icarus looked up towards Six and stared at the grey SPARTAN her words barely registering in his mind. She asked again adding with it a nudge to his large feet. This time he responded. "A long time. The Hierarchs believe that the greatest of all secrets lies there. If a Sacred Ring could not be found, then it would be the last chance for our salvation and the Journey."

"Okay," said Jun, "What relic is sitting on Earth?"

"I—I do not know." Icarus said calmly.

"What do you mean you _don't know_." Jun shouted angrily.

"Just that," Icarus said rising to his feet, "I do not know. Your race was never fore told to be there. If there is a fleet there, then it is most likely an expeditionary fleet searching for the relic."

Six grabbed one of his arms. "Alright, think; who is most likely to be leading this force?"

Icarus pondered for a moment then answered saying, "The one leading them is the same Prophet who has been rigorously searching for the relics of our Lords, the Prophet of Regret."

"Isn't he the same guy who made that Arbiter of yours?" Jun asked.

"He is. He's also the one who engaged the ship we are hunting twenty years ago at a relic belonging to our Lords. Though the relic was lost, he continued the search for the Sacred Rings."

"And it looks like his search has led him to Earth." Six said letting go of him, "_Saratoga_ do you read me?"

"Loud and clear, Lieutenant." A voice Six recognized as Captain Stafford, "We heard the entire exchange. I'm sending a drop ship in to pick your team up. Once you're on board, we'll decide what to do then."

"Copy that." She answered. "Jun time to close up shop. Icarus and I will meet you on the roof."

"Roger."

"Come on," She said to Icarus, "we can mope after we get out of here."

Icarus shook off the shock of the news and nodded his head. The two warriors raced to the roof where Jun was waiting for them. Above them, they saw the silhouette of a Pelican descending to pick them up. As they entered the Pelican, Jun asked Six, "So Six, I guess this means we're going home?"

Six looked out at the ruins of the city and saw the merchant ship and the merchants looking up towards them as they ascended. Six flashed back to seeing the burning ruins of New Alexandria a month earlier as Noble Team left the glassed city.

_At least this time no one died._

Jun tapped Six on the shoulder breaking her out of her reverie. "Hey, you hear what I said?"

"Yeah, I heard you." She said turning her back on the fading scenery. "To be perfectly honest Jun, I don't know. Personally, I just hope it doesn't turn into another Reach."

Jun shook his head as he sat down in one of the seats placing his rifle on the rack above him. "I'm with you there. Forty-eight hours my ass. We didn't even make it to twenty-four before they had us beat."

"It'll take some time according to my projections to reach Earth." Hope said as the Pelican docked with the _Saratoga._ "Hopefully, we can make it in time to save it."

Six, Jun and Icarus stepped out into the open hangar where they were greeted by Joshua and Corporal Woods.

"Get what we came for?" Joshua asked Six.

"We got it." Hope answered.

He nodded. "The captain said to meet him in the conference room."

"Lead the way." Six said and motioned for them to take the lead. Joshua took point as Six and the others followed behind him. "I take it you heard about Earth."

He continued to walk forward seeming to ignore her question. Corporal Woods answered instead. "We heard, hell the entire ship knows. We're just wondering why we haven't left to help out."

Jun shrugged. "I don't know maybe because the three of us were still on the ground and needed a pick up."

Corporal Woods shot Jun an angry glare. "Thanks. Wanna share what's that gun on your back? I think we need you to tell us."

"Cool it you two." Six said as Joshua stopped in front of a door. He spoke into a panel and the door opened. Six walked in and immediately saw a long conference room table sitting in the center of the room. Sitting at the far end, was Captain Strafford in his white uniform a grim look occupying his face. He looked up as Noble Six and the rest of Noble Team entered the room. He stood, saluted them, and then returned to his seat gesturing for them to sit in the empty grey chairs.

"Good to see you all in one piece." Strafford began, "I'm sure I don't need to brief you on current events." The team looked down sullenly. Strafford continued. "I'm sure you all have differing feelings about the situation happening on Earth." He glanced at Icarus who remained standing at the end of the room. "However, we are not here to discuss that. What I would like to know is where we go from here. Our orders are only to provide transportation for you Noble Team and assist you on your task. This new development changes things dramatically. With that in mind, I open the floor to suggestions."

Corporal Woods spoke first. "I vote that we return to Earth. With Reach gone, there is nowhere left for humanity to live. At this point, I believe it is imperative that we make haste to Earth's defense; if we lose Earth, game over."

"I second that notion." Joshua said, "I'm tired of the Covies always beating us. I say it's time we show them what we're made of and give them a defeat they'll never forget."

"You mean like we did at Reach?" Jun said removing his helmet. "It worked out so well for us there."

"Shut it." Corporal Woods snapped. "At Reach we were outgunned and outnumbered. This time we have home field advantage and if any ships survived Reach, no doubt they regrouped in Sol so this time it will be an even fight."

Jun snorted. "Right, it was pretty even during Operation UPPERCUT and we still lost more than the Covenant. Paid off right?"

Amy leaned back in her chair, "That operation was a success all things considered. A couple of ships lost, a few hundred ground forces and a SPARTAN-II, not much of a loss."

Jun stood up and faced Amy directly. "How's about showing some respect for them then? They gave their lives to see that we could keep ours. That SPARTAN-II had a name, it was Jorge."

Amy smirked, "Hit a nerve?"

Jun clenched his fists but kept them low. The room still tensed up. Joshua shifted his feet as if ready to spring onto Jun at a moment's notice. "You bet Corperal. Jorge was a comrade and friend and if you think I'll let you talk cavalier about his death, you better think again."

"And what are you going to do about it?" she said standing as well. "Last time I checked, I've lost quite a few friends. Care for me to name them?"

"Enough." Strafford said sternly. The two glared at each other before returning to their seats. "Getting upset over past events won't change anything. It's tragic that they gave their lives but now they're heroes so let's treat 'em all as such." He looked at Noble Six sitting to his left and noticed that she had her arms on the table with her hands folded across each other. "Noble Six, what are your thoughts on the matter: should we continue on with the mission or should we go to Earth's aid?"

All eyes focused on Noble Six as she said, "I think we should continue the mission."

"AGAIN?" Corporal Woods shouted still standing. "You're seriously going to do this again—place the mission before human lives!"

"Let it go, Woods." Said Joshua going over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"No, I can't let this one go." She answers pulling his hand off, "It's one thing to abandon a group of soldiers, but now she wants to leave all of _humanity_ to potentially die for the sake of some mission from some ONI scientist who looks like she's spent more time in a laboratory playing with her chemistry set than she has on the battlefield." Woods turns to Captain Strafford with a pleading look in her eyes. "Please say you won't go along with this, sir?"

"Hold on Corporal, let's hear what the Lieutenant has to say before we jump to conclusions and please sit back down. I understand that you've been through a lot, but if you have another outburst I'll have you led out of this room."

Woods grudgingly did as she was asked. Joshua just crossed his arms and stayed by her. Six continued.

"As I said, I believe we should continue with the mission. I say this because of two reasons: one as the Corporal already suggested, any remaining UNSC ships that survived Reach might have regrouped at Earth. With the outer colonies gone, Earth is the only planet we have left. I highly doubt it will be taken over so easily. No doubt Earth has taken steps to increase its defenses since the war began. In addition, going to Earth gives us no guarantee that we will actually be of any help with our current forces, which brings me to the second reason—time. Hope could you bring up a map of the area?" Seconds later a small device emerged from the center of the table and a large hologram of a map of with their current position appeared. "As you can see, our current position places us in a bind, if we go to Earth, we might not be able to continue the search for the _Spirit of Fire_. If it is mobile or has come under any threat then we may not be able to locate it ever again. However, the converse is equally true in that if we go after the _Spirit of Fire_, then Earth may either be destroyed or have successfully fended off the Covenant without our aid."

"I support the Lieutenant's argument and position as well." Said Hope.

"This is interesting." Commented Jun. "Care to elaborate?"

"Certainly. As the Lieutenant has stated, our options are quite clear: stay the course or go defend Earth. The answer is much easier than its solution and I believe our Elite friend here can collaborate, correct?"

All eyes shifted over to Icarus. The maroon colored Elite glanced at the map showing their position then asked, "The transmission, what did it say exactly?"

"The short version," the AI answered, "that a fleet had found Earth and decided to invade."

"And the ship strength?" He asked in reply.

"Total strength of the fleet is approximately fifteen Covenant capital ships. One of them, a super carrier, hung back until an opening appeared then went through it. That's where the message ended and I don't think that last bit was meant for us to hear."

Icarus brought his left hand to his lower two mandibles, briefly stroked them then looked at the UNSC captain. "Then there is no doubt, this is the Prophet of Regret's forces. His eagerness to reach his objective despite the losses is well known in the command ranks. Fear not, humans, if it is his fleet then this is no long term invasion."

Corporal Woods lifted an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?"

"His fleet does not have the fire power to perform full invasions or glassings. The reason is to avoid greatly damaging relics should there be…hostile forces nearby."

"So in essence his fleet is more of an 'S&R' fleet?" Jun asked shifting in his seat.

"'S&R'"? Icarus inquired.

"Search and Recovery." Six answered.

"Oh, well, to answer Kig-Yar Jaw's question, yes. Although, those serving within it, prefer 'Relic Hunters' to the notion of being nothing more than a lesser armed scout fleet."

"That would piss anyone off." Joshua interjected. He folded his arms and continued, "So if the fleet is too small to be a real threat what is the best case scenario for Earth?"

The maroon Elite scratched his left bottom mandible with his center finger, then answered, "Should your fleet and your planet's defenses be as powerful as your construct claims, then the best case is Regret's capture, demise, or escape while his fleet is decimated."

"And the worst?" The green SPARTAN replied.

"Your defenses fail and he is victorious."

The room fell silent except for the occasional creaking noise from one of the chairs as their occupants shifted in them. Icarus held a hand up before continuing. "However, if I know Regret like I think I do, he will run like a scared animal before he let himself be destroyed or captured. Those subservient to him will not question his orders."

Corporal Woods was confused. "Hold on, you said that his escape would be a best case scenario, why?"

"If one of their leaders is captured," Captain Strafford began, "and he doesn't report when he's supposed to, the Covenant would send a massive fleet to get him back taking with them some of their best soldiers to ensure his safe return, am I right Icarus?"

Icarus nodded. "The council would without a doubt send at least a carrier with their special forces to retrieve him if not a Supercarrier with the intent to destroy all opposition."

"I'm assuming they have training for this sort of thing." Noble Six asked eyeing her teammate.

"Amongst other skills."

"As fascinating as learning about Earth's impending doom is," Hope interrupted in an annoyed tone of voice, "we still have a decision to make. As of now that's two—I'm sorry four against going to Earth versus two with one undecided."

"Four?" Jun asked looking over at Six. "Where are you getting four from?"

"You, the Lieutenant, Icarus and myself. Wherever she goes, I go. Unless it involves suicide, which case the Noble Six can have her fun by herself."

Six snorted. "Nice to know you care, Hope."

"Only the best for you Lieutenant."

The captain cleared his throat and everyone's attention shifted to him. "As much as I would like to continue this conversation, the AI is right; a decision needs to be made. Noble Six, are you certain about going after the _Spirit of Fire_? If what you've said is true, then turning back around isn't an option."

Six quickly answered, "Yes, sir."

The young captain brushed back his dark hair and sighed. "On my last assignment before I got promoted, the captain of my ship and I had a conversation about a decision he made to not pursue a fleeing Covenant frigate. I told him that we should have gone after it and prevented it from passing on valuable Intel. He decided that allowing it to retreat would have been better since we were only a short distance away from a small refueling outpost.

"We both argued but in the end, we agreed that discussing past decisions was a waste of time. However, I later learned that the ship we let escape had met up with a nearby cruiser and they were leaving the system. As far as I know, the station is still there and the Covenant haven't been back since."

"What's your point, sir?" Jun asked tapping his helmet.

"My point is that had we chased after him we would have been destroyed. Ironically, I now see what my captain faced and I now understand his decision. Personally, I would love nothing more than to go to Earth and blowing the hell out of the Covenant, however, our orders are to escort your team Noble Six to wherever it is that you need to go. As such, with great reluctance, I will support your decision. Understand, I am not a fan of abandoning Earth like this, however, given our current position and strength and the fact that we have a former member of the enemy on board with us, it would be better if we continue on with the mission. If we go to Earth and they are successful in driving off the Covenant, I have no doubt in my mind that they would take Icarus prisoner and ONI would detain all of us for a very long time. Continuing with the mission, we can avoid that and gain more intel on the Covenant than what we have now. Is everyone okay with this?"

Noble Six, Jun and Icarus nodded their heads while Joshua found something interesting on the wall to look at and Corporal Woods remained silent.

"If there are no objections, then Hope if you would send the jump coordinates to the bridge, we can continue on our journey. Oh and Noble Six?"

The grey SPARTAN stared at the officer. "Sir?"

"Would you and your Elite friend here head down to Engineering, they said they could use some help with the Engineer you brought with you. Apparently he keeps messing with the panels down there."

"I am sure he is curious as to the functionality of your ship." Icarus answered. "He means no harm."

"Even so, it would put the technicians down there at ease. Last thing we want are them hitting at it with wrenches."

"We'll head there right away." Six answered. "Jun, you and the rest of the squad get some rest. I have a feeling you're going to need it."

Six's squad saluted the captain as he dismissed them from the room to complete their assigned tasks. Outside the meeting room Icarus asked, "Demon, what should happen if the ship is not where we think it is?"

Six looked down the corridor they were in and thought of the quickest way to Engineering. "Then we do like we did here, look among the wreckage of what's there and find out where they went. If we see anything that doesn't like us, we shoot it."

_Meanwhile, at Earth…_

High in the sky above the city of New Mombasa sat the imposing Covenant Super Carrier belonging to the Prophet of Regret. On the bridge inside the carrier sitting in his hover chair sat the Prophet himself stewing away at the grievous blunder he just got himself into hours earlier. Following the conclusion of the heretic Elite's trial, Regret had plowed ahead to Earth to begin preparations for the last ditch plan to initiate the Great Journey. Truth be told, Regret was uncertain whether or not the supposed "Ark" belonging to the Forerunners would actually be where the AI aboard the Forerunner Dreadnaught claimed it would be. His initial doubts were crushed and replaced with feelings of confusion and annoyance when he saw the humans above the planet. Moreover, not just a small scout fleet or a group of pirates but what looked to be their entire fleet and their entire race all gathered in one location. For Regret, it was a dream come true. Not only did he get to unveil the Ark but he also gets the opportunity to do what that failure could not, destroy the rest of Humanity and return both a war hero and savior of the journey.

These feelings however, did not last. As the ship's Captain began reading to him, the final report from their losses Regret felt a feeling of sweltering anger towards the Humans for denying him his greatest victory since his discovery of the Forerunner Shield World and the ships held within it.

"_The initial assessment my fellow Captains gave have quickly been proven incorrect." His Captain stated as he read to him his summary report of the battle thus far. "As the fleet got close to the defenses the large defensive network of anti-ship guns orbiting above the surface tore them apart. Most of the ships in our fleet, minus ours and our escort ship were completely destroyed by both the guns and the ships in orbit. There are also reports of the Demon being here as well. Our scouts on the ground, claim to have seen him and others like him engaging our brothers and war vehicles, including the Super Scarab we dispatched to clear the area of the buildings and survey the site. Moreover_—"

Regret held up a three-fingered hand causing him to stop. "_Enough. I believe I get the picture. The battle is lost. I assume that even now the Humans are scurrying to the gravity lift zone to capture it and this ship, and claim their victory like the primitive vermin they are?_"

The gold armored Captain Elite hung his head low and remained silent. His armor an heirloom passed down in his family that he decided to wear for this glorious occasion, now stained with shame as he considers all that was lost on this latest false hope.

"_Your silence speaks volumes. What of the surveys? What have they found?_"

The Elite cleared his throat then answered, "_The survey teams have found indications that there is an underground system beneath the city. We do not know if it is Human made or made from our Lords; however we do know that this appears to be where the Humans have their greatest concentration of war buildings much like the ones on their fortress world._"

Regret stoked the hairs on his chin, a thought stirring in his aged mind. "_Repeat again what you said, Captain._"

The Elite looked at him with a confused expression. "_Which part, Noble Hierarch?_"

For a brief second, the Elite saw Regret's normal stern mask disappear and reveal a furry that he doubted few had seen. All of them had seen the Prophet when he got angry or went on a tirade, but none that he knew had ever saw the dark look he briefly saw. His brows furrowed into a menacing glare that threatened several levels of violence upon him should he not tread carefully with his next words. The Elite, chose his next words with caution. "_I presume you are referring to the part regarding their war buildings that we have seen previously?_"

Regret nodded not trusting himself to speak without shouting.

"_The Humans have a network of tunnels underneath the buildings below us. There is also a concentration of war buildings like the ones we encountered on their previous worlds, including the destruction of their most recent fortress world._"

Regret pondered his words carefully letting a lengthy silence fall on the bridge before asking, "_Are there any buildings by themselves?_"

The Captain nodded. "_There is a black building on an island on its own and several other locations that bare the Human sign_ 'O N I'."

A broad smile spread across Regret's face as he said, "_As I suspected. We can at least be grateful that the humans are very predictable._"

The Elite waited for Regret to continue.

"_Anytime the Humans discover something related to our Lord's creations, they always plant those black buildings and those markers like some sort of sign. More than likely some code for the unworthy to keep out. Their folly is now our blessing. Captain order your warriors to—_"

"_Noble Prophet, pardon my interruption,_" A blue colored Elite said from his station. Regret motioned for him to continue, "_we have just received a message from one of our search ships._"

"_And what does it say?_" Regret answered.

"_That they've found it. They did not say what it was but sent us an image and a set of coordinates._"

"_Can you display the image?_"

The Sanghelli nodded.

"_Then by all means, show us this image._"

Everyone looked directly ahead as the Sanghelli pressed a few bright colored buttons in quick succession. A collective gasp was heard as the image appeared before them revealing to all present what they thought they would never again see—another Halo ring in perfect condition, untouched by the Humans and other potential defilers.

Regret's smile widened as he stared awe struck at the image of the ring before him. "_With this my victory and forgiveness for this blunder is assured._" He turned to the Captain, "_Order those closest to return to the ship and send these coordinates along with the Halo's coordinates to High Charity. Let them marvel at this discovery. Those too far away, order to continue securing the city and the underground sections. If they are of our Lord's making then we will need to prepare them for the Ascendance, if not then their removal will be necessary._"

The Sanghelli nodded. "_On your word, Noble Hierarch._"

"_Pilot, set coordinates to the sacred Halo. Let our passage be a reminder to the Humans of our greatness and our destructive will._"

Every Elite in the room let out a triumphant roar as they realized what Regret was asking them to do. Seconds later the gravity lift disappeared and the ship began to turn away from the city towards the open sky. Feelings of elation surged through Regret as newfound hope made their way to his heart.

"_Noble Hierarch,_" the same Elite said, "_Several small objects, most likely drop pods, have appeared on our sensors and a Human ship is speeding its way towards us._"

"_Ignore them._" Regret answered with a hand wave."_No doubt they will be destroyed when we go into slip space. And if not they can catch a glimpse of our fleet's might before they are crushed by its power._"

As the ship began to slip through, the lone Human frigate, _In Amber Clad_, sped alongside the massive carrier its goal of following it to its destination. With only milliseconds to spare, the _In Amber Clad_ makes it into Regret's carrier's slip space wake and in a blinding flash joins the ship as it head towards the relic left behind by the Forerunners: Installation 05.

AN: Well this was fun year. For all those still reading and waiting, I give my sincerest apologies for the exceptionally long wait. There are three reasons:

1) Real life (the tricky minx she is).

2) Sono KOJ and I have been working on a few other projects that has consumed a bit of my free time. These are just works in progress, nothing too substantial as of now (except for our one Zelda fic…).

3) and it shames me to admit it but Halo 4 and everything that was revealed with it nearly torpedoed some of my future ideas (Spartan Ops might have saved a few) with this one so again I apologize for the very long delay. As a heads up, the next one is just about done and should be up soon. It will be the last of the stage setting stuff (so more conversations and less of the epic battles and combat that Halo is known for but I hope the action payoff is worth the wait). We'll be seeing some more from the Covenant perspective and a revisit with an familiar Engie that has been requested and a brief glimpse of other forces at work behind the scenes (hint: lots of races were saved by the Forerunners besides the ones we see).

So that's what's been happening let me know what you guys think in the comments (feel free to leave guesses as to what you think might happen in the upcoming chapters). And as always, thanks for your support and see you in the next update.

-Yuekichi


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